Called into Test cricket during New Zealand's centennial
season of crisis, and in his maiden first-class season, in 1994-95, Kerry Walmsley, a strong, fast-medium bowler, was 21 when he played in the first Test against Sri Lanka. He took a wicket with his seventh ball. But from that point it all became a lot harder. New Zealand lost the Test and the series, and in the administrative maelstrom that followed as New Zealand Cricket hemorrhaged, Walmsley never recovered the sort of momentum that demanded he retain his place. Injuries did not help him and he was eventually forced to leave his native Auckland to try and resurrect his best touch in Otago. He did get called in as a replacement player during the tour of South Africa in 2000-01 but to date his three Tests have resulted in nine wickets at 43.44. When players were given the option of withdrawing before the one-day tour of Pakistan in 2003, Walmsley was named as a replacement player, and played two one-day internationals. After a stint in Otago, he returned to Auckland for the summer of 2003-04.
Lynn McConnell (September 2004)